Stephen Reid
By Stephen Reid, New Economics Foundation
Ellie Mae O'Hagan and Nicholas Shaxson explain why countries don't need to "compete" on tax: the latest Mythbuster from nef and the Tax Justice Network.
By Stephen Reid, New Economics Foundation
“There are two distinct groups of people, one good and one bad; individuals choose to be in one group or the other. ‘Strivers’ work hard and put money into the economy while ‘skivers’ are just lay-abouts who take money out. Claiming benefits traps people in dependency, which is a social evil, passed from one generation to the next. People not in paid work contribute nothing of value to society.”
By Stephen Reid, New Economics Foundation
If Britain is broke at the moment, then – looking at this longer series – it was also broke for a whole century between 1750 and 1850, and for 20 years after the Second World War. In reality, in neither case did the UK default, and reveal itself as bust – both periods were times of investment and national renewal. Today, our national debt is significantly lower than Japan’s (about 200% of GDP), and comparable to Germany’s (83%) and the US (80%). By international or historical standards, the national debt is not high.
By Stephen Reid, New Economics Foundation
Rolling Jubilee, a project of Occupy offshoot Strike Debt, has caused quite a stir online and in the media (see the Telegraph, Huffington Post, and Guardian).